Great Whites, One Woman, No Cage. Amazing

This is not what you're expecting.

Anonymous

community

Aug 12, 2014

Ocean Ramsey is something of a phenomenon. Based in Hawai'i, she's a conservationist, free diver, surfer, SCUBA diver and instructor, model...and what many are calling a shark whisperer. Watch the video.

You'll notice something about the video...besides the fact that she's swimming very peacefully with a Great White shark...She's not wearing any kind of oxygen tank.

That's because Ocean Ramsey can hold her breath for just under six minutes (5:45) while under water. Many free divers can go longer, but then again, they're not swimming alongside Great White sharks.

Ms. Ramsey with a whale shark.

Among Tiger sharks.

This is not a stunt, however, and Ocean Ramsey is not doing this for the sake of making videos or taking sharkies for the delight of the internet. Her concerns are for the delicate eco-system beneath our oceans and she's trying to raise awareness for sharks. On her website, she writes

"Sharks are threatened by the misconceptions surrounding them; sadly, fear keeps most people from truly understanding them. Sharks function as the white blood cells of the ocean: picking off the dead, dying, and sick—keeping populations below them on the food chain in delicate balance. Sharks are vital not only to their ecosystem but the planet as a whole, and they deserve and need to be protected."

There are only an estimated 3,500 Great White sharks left in the oceans.

"While swimming with Great Whites is a thrilling and inspiring experience, my interaction with sharks is absolutely driven by my greater goal to advocate shark conservation. Many people fear sharks and have unfortunately only seen them portrayed on TV and in films as mindless man-eating machines."

"In truth, sharks are intelligent, calculated, and generally very cautious about approaching humans. More importantly, sharks play a vital role in maintaining a healthy ocean ecosystem and are being over-fished to the point of extinction."

We reached out to Ms. Ramsey for an interview, but unfortunately she is off-shore for the time being. We hope to be able to talk with her about her experiences and work soon.